What a great time we had. A full day of mutually shared information among some of Florida’s most enthusiastic high school senior photographers. April 15th, we gathered at the Doubletree Hotel in Tampa and spent the day photographing seniors and learning how the Bumper Shot is the newest, most popular look that seniors are looking for.

Newsome’s Studio began creating Bumper Shots for seniors and commercial clients about two years ago. It quickly caught on as an exciting new look and both seniors and their parents are loving it.

A Bumper Shot is a television industry term, describing the still shot of the host and/or musical guest, sandwiched between the end of a commercial break and the return of the show, usually only on the screen for all of three seconds. Saturday Night Live is the most popular user of the “The Bumper Shot.”

Here are some of the Bumpers we created during the Bumper Shot Seminar…

I’m one very lucky Uncle. I have seven nieces and five nephews, and I have now photographed every single one of them for their senior portraits.

It became “an event” years ago, to make a trip to see Uncle Kevin for a full weekend to have their senior pictures taken, but always involved much more than an hour or two in the studio. We’d do the traditional studio session, then go out on location for something interesting… the beach, Ybor City, University of Tampa, downtown, a park… Then, of course, we’d hit a Rays/Yankees game, visit the Clearwater Marina, or do something that was just plain fun.

Well, of the dozen Newsome kids who call me “Uncle,” the last one just spent the weekend here for his senior pictures (all but two of my nieces and nephews hail from Atlanta).

Josh is the caboose of the train, and didn’t disappoint. We shared a ton of laughs, I told him stories about his dad (my brother) he’d never heard (always fun to reveal some hidden family secrets), we hit the movies, toured the Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, and lunched and dined all around town.

He’s an experienced kayaker, so when I was in Atlanta a few weeks ago, I took advantage of the opportunity to begin the senior session with images I knew we couldn’t do when he came to Tampa.

The rest were taken all over the Bay area, and of course, no senior session is complete without a few of our famous Bumper Shots. Here are some of my favorite images of Josh Newsome’s senior portrait session…

Tampa’s Bumper Shot Photographer

The high school senior picture season is just getting underway, and there will soon be a mad rush to get an appointment with your school’s contracted yearbook photographer. I feel for those poor guys – they have to shuffle no less than 10k students past their camera in a few short months. They beef up their staff for the summer, then thin it back out by fall. Wow.

Fortunately for independent professional photographers like Newsome’s, we have the luxury of scheduling as much time as necessary to provide high school seniors with what they really want – a chance to be photographed like the star they are!

Thus, was born, the Bumper Shot!

At Newsome’s Studio, we provide the traditional, classic, head & shoulders in a tux or drape (but always on a classic black background, never BLUE!), then we do a few casual images in outfits our seniors bring, and then… we launch into the BUMPER SHOT!

In the television industry, a Bumper Shot (also known as an ID Bumper), is the image that “bumps” up against the return of a show from commercial break. It often lasts all of three seconds, but features the show’s logo and guest host or musical guest for that particular show. You’ll see it five to six times during every episode of Saturday Night Live.

This is where our seniors get the opportunity to break with tradition, and really ham it up for the camera. Props are encouraged, anything from a jar of peanut butter to a lampshade have been brought in and utilized. It helps to be animated, comedic, and playful, which our seniors today seem to have no problem with.

So, if you’re a high school senior, feel free to tap your “inner guest host persona,” bring us a banana, a Mother Goose book, or a tool from the garage, and let’s have a bit of fun creating your own personal Bumper Shot!

I need at least five, class of 2017 high school seniors – three girls, two guys would be perfect – that would be willing to model for me to create a few promotional images for senior pictures.

I’m working on “a Look” that I’ve greatly admired for some time now (not my invention). This “Look” is quite recognizable in pop culture, but rarely created (very rarely), by photographers in general. That’s all I’m willing to divulge to you right now, just suffice it to say that it’s fun, creative, and today’s senior class is going to LOVE IT!

Requirements are:

Must be Animated – Expressions and Body Language

Must be Creative – Able to improvise with stage props, for example

Images will be used to promote “the Look” in Newsome’s promotional material

One hour of time in the studio

In exchange for their cooperation, each senior will receive one high res digital image created from “the Look” session, and a 15% discount off any prints on our high school senior price list should they decide to purchase anything (no purchases are required at all).

If you have a 2017 senior at home, or know of one that you believe will be a good candidate, please have them call the studio at 813-968-2810 as soon as possible. Candidates will be screened and models selected by Friday, August 26th.